Feedback on either of these?  

I've been planning to dump my Kahr P9 one day and pick up a Shield.  I carry a G19, but would likely carry this occasionally, particularly when I'm concerned about possibly printing.  It could also double as a ccw for the wife, but not sure she'd carry it on her person or just leave it in her purse.  In that case another option would be the M&P 9c since aside from thickness and weight, it's basically the same size as the shield.  We already have a full size M&P for a house gun so mag compatibility is somewhat of an appeal if it ended up sitting in her purse anyway.  

Springfield has a promo going on right now (ends 10/31) for 3 free mags, but the gun itself is $100 more than the shield...  $399 vs $499 from what I've seen.  

(MFF, are we allowed to post image links to deals now?  Or do i need to retype this out and/or make people click on a link to show the same info?  - serious-)

3 mags & pouch freehttp://gearup.springfield-armory.com/Gearup.asp



I'll carry this size weapon, but would give it to my wife if she likes it.  If she doesn't, then we'd likely get her something different, possible a BUG...  P3AT, LCP, G42.

I am planning to take the wife shooting soon to let her decide what she's more comfortable carrying.  While I don't have some of these exact models it's be a good start to let her shoot my Kahr P9 and Keltec P3AT for size comparisons etc...  The full size M&P isn't practical for her to carry, but she enjoys shooting it.

I like the shield better because the grip is more comfortable in my hand. The XDs feels like a slightly rounded block of wood in my hand.
Plus, you can now get the shield w/o the safety if you want.

I have heard that there is a rust issue with some of the metal parts of the shield though.

I did a lot of shopping and narrowed it down to the 2 you have listed. I ended up going xds 9 and couldn't be happier. It's fits great in the hand and is accurate. There's a gun and pawn store in cherokee that usually has the xds for 449.

No way on the XD.  They are a POS.  Shield or M&P9c.

I would probably say shield as my first choice but I do not own one and have only shot one a few times.

As you mentioned, let her choose if it is for her but I wouldn't let my wife buy an XD if my life depended on it.

Man, I never get tired of the XD hate! Never understood it either....

I can't offer any first hand experience with either, just a few observations.

I've held an XD, but never shot one.  It didn't appeal to me and I've never given it a second look.  The other thing with the XD line is, it seems there are always people trying to get rid of them.  That was one of the first things I noticed when I "friended" some of the firearms trader pages on Facebook, there are a TON of XD's for sale/trade.  More so than other popular makes of pistols (namely S&W followed by Glock).  That to me, is a clue.

Again, this is not based on personal experience with the XD's, just personal observations.

I've owned both, shot both, and sold both.  my choice would be the m&p9c if I were looking. I'm not a glock guy by any means but after shooting a friends g42 I was very impressed. just my .02  coming from a Sig fan boy  

JCB

I normally carry a full size M&P 9 but when dress or situation dictates smaller I carry a Shield 9. I have no first hand knowledge of the XDS but I am a fan of the Shield 9mm. You should be able to find a Shield for 375 to 400 at  a local gun store. Ft Benning PX had them for $350 a few weekends ago if you are military.

I have both and they are nice pistols
I carry the shield often
I never warmed up to the xd

shield is good to go. I prefer the feel of this to the MP9c in that the grip on the 9c is a bit too short for my liking and it feels like the gun would walk out of my hand after shots like it does with a baby glock.

Shield has a much better feel and is made in USA.

Personally, I like the XDs better. People saying they're junk are just haters. The new post-recall models are fine and come with a ton of extras thanks to that promo. You can get them for $450 which makes the price difference smaller.

I prefer the grip safety on the XD to the manual safety on the SHIELD and even though they are "available," I've never seen a SHIELD with no manual safety in the wild.